Case filling and stacking machine



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United States Patent 3,069,823 CASE MILLING AND STACKING lviACl-IINE Ulrich I. Schmid, Dallas, Tex assignor to Foremost Dairies, Inc, San Francisco, Calif a corporation of New York Filed Ian. 39, 1961, Ser. No. 85,2?7 2%; Claims. (Ci. 53-2t5} This invention relates to case filling and stacking machines and is particularly concerned with a combination machine of this character which is compact, light in weight and which requires a minimum of space.

Automatic or semi-automatic machinery is widely used in the dairy, citrus, bottling and related industries to facilitate the filling of cases with milk cartons, bottles or other containers. In conventional practice, the case filling operation is performed in a separate area, which preferably is close to the carton or bottle filling operation. In the most modern systems, the filled cases are also conveyed to stacking machinery which arranges the cases into vertical stacks for convenient handling during transport or storage.

I-Ieretofore, separate machinery has been employed to perform the above described operations, requiring the use of extensive conveyor systems to move the bottles or cartons and the cases or stacks of cases to desired plant locations. These conveyer systems generally employ a plurality of segments to effect change in level within the plant, and to move the various units such as bottles or cases from one area to another. Eiiective placement of machinery and equipment is consequently a matter of considerable difficulty, particularly in view of the customary use of floor wells or pits to house various portions of the machinery, such as the hydraulic mechanisms for the casing and stacking elevators, conveyer mechanisms, and so on.

In general, it is an object of the present invention to provide a unitary case filling and stacking mechanism which efiiciently receives a substantially continuous supply of individual containers and empty cases, loads the containers into the cases to fill the same, and thereafter arranges the filled cases in vertically stacked relation for discharge from the system.

It is another object of the invention to provide a machine of the above character which operates in continuous fashion, in a series of successive operating steps, to till the empty cases with one or more layers of filled containers and to vertically stack the filled cases for discharge from the system, and which performs these steps quickly, easily and automatically.

it is a further object of the invention to provide a case filling, stacking and conveying mechanism of such character adapted to operations at or above floor level, that is simple in construction, light in weight, and which occupies a minimum of floor space.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of the above type which can be readily positioned in a plant operation to receive individual containers and empty cases from feeding lines at working heights, and which will deliver the stacked assemblies at floor or shipping levels for convenience in further conveyance or transport.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an automatic case filling and stacking mechanism of the above character which receives tilled containers and empty cases, one by one, arranges the containers into layers or patterns corresponding to the interior of the cases, deposits the layers or patterns of containers within the cases, arranges the filled cases into vertically stacked assemblies, and delivers the stacked assemblies for further conveyance.

"ice

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view in side elevation of a machine embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a schematic view in perspective of the associated components of the machine of FIGURE 1, illustrating the operation thereof;

FIGURE 3 is a view in top plan, on an enlarged scale, of the machine of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary view, similar to FIGURE 3, with portions of the structure removed to show the case feeding mechanism;

FIGURE 5 is a view in vertical section along the line 5--5 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a view in perspective of the case feeding mechanism;

FIGURES 7 to 11 are schematic views related to FIGURE 3, illustrating the operation of the container feed mechanism and transfer station;

FIGURE 12 is an enlarged view of a container assembly station associated therewith;

FIGURE 13 is a view in section along the line 13-13 of FIGURE 12;

FIGURE 14 is a like view showing an extended position of a pattern table at the assembly station;

IGURE l5 and 16 are views, respectively, in end elevation and section of the assembly station;

FIGURES 17 to 26 are schematic views likewise related to FIGURE 3, illustrating the operation of the assembly station;

FIGURE 21 is a view in front elevation of a gripper mechanism employed at a case filling station in the machine;

FIGURE 22 is a view in section along the line 22-22 of FIGURE 21;

FIGURES 23 to 25 are schematic views in side elevation illustrating the movement of a carton into a supported position within the gripper mechanism;

FIGURES 26 to 28 are views in front elevation, corresponding to FIGURES 23 to 25;

FIGURE 29 is a fragmentary view in section and elevation illustrating the positioning of the gripper head and case loading elevator relative to the stacking mechainsm;

FIGURE 30 is a view along the line 3l3!l of FIG- URE 4, showing details of the case loading elevator;

FIGURE 31 is a like view along the lines 3l--3l of FIGURE 4;

FIGURES 32 to 35 are schematic views illustrating the movements of the gripper mechanism and the loading elevator at the case filling station;

FIGURE 36 is a view in top plan of a guide assembly employed at the case filling station;

FIGURE 37 is a view in side elevation thereof along the line 37-437 of FIGURE 36;

FIGURE 38 is a view in section and elevation illustrating the operation of the guide assembly;

FIGURE 39 is a view in transverse section along the line 39-3? of FIGURE 29, illustrating: the case transfer mechanism;

FIGURE 40 is an enlarged fragmentary view similar to FIGURE 39, illustrating details of the case stacking mechanism;

FIGURE 41 is a view in vertical section along the line 4I.4l of FIGURE 40;

FIGURE 42 is a detail view showing the operation of switching means forming a part of the stacking mechanism; 

